Broken
by alno1935
Summary: Sage and Willow of Honorhall sought the college of winterhold, to learn what they could do with their natural talents. Now Sage is struggling to stop his heritage from driving him mad and Willow has to fight the curse of lycanthropy. They never thought Skyrim's mages could appear so far away.(look at the summary for Rejected, brackets apply to this story too.)
1. Chapter 1

**welcome to the first chapter of Broken. for those who don't know, this can be considered a sequel to Rejected but I've made it so you by no means have to read that one (its not nearly as well done as this). I've made quite a few changes since Rejected and I'm hoping they're all for the better. please enjoy and I'm looking forward to any and all feedback.**

She felt the pounding headache before anything, a slow, pulsating pain in the front of her skull. With a groan, the Breton Willow of Honorhall sat up and opened her eyes. She looked around the cramped makeshift tent while blinking the last bit of sleep from her eyes.

Several thoughts ran through her head at once, _where am I? How did I get here?_ She brought her hand to massage her head, _and why does my head hurt so much?_ She clutched at her chest suddenly, remembering the arrow that bored into it the night before. Confusion ran through her mind when there was no mark or scarring, she wasn't sure where exactly it hit but it hit hard and even magic shouldn't have been able to prevent such a deep wound from scarring. With a sigh she wrapped the blanket around herself and crawled from the tent

The midday sun sent a new wave of pain through her skull and she struggled to shield her eyes with one hand while holding the blanket up with the other. "I thought I heard you moving around in there. Good morning." she looked at who spoke, her heart skipped a beat when she saw him sitting there.

Even if she couldn't quite make out his eyes, thanks to a hood casting a dark shadow over them, she could never forget that warm smile and that gentle voice. "It's a relief to see you're alright" The Nord Sage of Honorhall, her childhood friend and gifted wizard, stood up, clearly moving to hug her only to be taken to the ground when she half hugged half tackled him. The blanket only barely covering her now

"I was so worried! The last I saw you, those bastards left you out to burn!" she couldn't contain the excitement in her voice nor keep it from lighting up her face. It took her a moment to notice the flush creeping on his cheeks and the heart pounding in his chest. "You're not a vampire anymore!" she couldn't believe it, he'd somehow found a way to cure himself in so short a time.

"I-I" a voice cleared its throat. "I don't mean to ruin the reunion but you're not wholly covered back here. Not that I mind or anything" The familiar deep voice drew her attention behind her where Elijah the forsworn was seated on a log wearing a curious smirk and motioning at her backside that peaked through the blanket.

She rolled off Sage in an instant, blushing furiously while fixing the blanket to cover everything properly. "I-I didn't see you Eli…" she mumbled while Sage, hiding his own blush, glared daggers at Eli who only shrugged and continued poking at the fire that sat in front of him. "So, what happened then? After I was…" she didn't know how to finish the sentence, the memory of her kidnapping and Sage's subsequent death sentence made her throat tighten.

Sage coughed expectantly at Eli who sighed heavily before standing "guess I'll go get some clothes for ya" He mumbled while walking off. Once he was out of earshot Sage let out relieved sigh "Don't like him do you?" Willow said, stifling a chuckle. Sage just shook his head "He creeps me out a bit but he said he saved you, is that true?" he looked at her with worry, earning a heavy sigh

"Unfortunately yes… those bandits knocked me out soon after I saw them do the same to you. I woke up tied to a bunch of others inside a caged wagon; I assumed I was already sold at that point." She heard Sage give a low grumble, obviously upset "bastards sure acted quickly." his voice had a dangerous edge but she continued. "I was sold to some kind of fighting ring where I-… I was forced into killing a man" Sage said something but she didn't hear him, the memory taking hold. "I burned him alive…" her hands subconsciously brushed against her lips.

She knew she had to, in the moment the only choice was to let him crush her windpipe or to stop him. _So I stopped him._ She couldn't understand why her hands still shook so much whenever she thought of it. She flinched when Sage brushed her side, startled at first but leaned in a second later. "It was "against the rules" apparently" he chuckled at her air quotes, an obvious attempt to lighten the mood but he didn't interupt and she wasn't going to complain.

"But it was very theatrical and the crowd loved it" she continued "so I wasn't punished, instead I was moved to a bigger arena, they said it was specifically meant for duals using magic. I was there for only two or three days before Elijah and his people attacked the place and liberated everyone there." She skipped over the fights she had in that place as well as what happened with the man that controlled her collar. She didn't want to admit how afraid she was in the ring… or how good it felt to kill the man that tried to beat her into submission.

"After that I was brought to Elijah's camp where he healed my wounds and gave me some food and clothing. Soon after he brought me hunting to stretch my legs and that's when I heard your voice. Right before…." she clutched her chest without thinking, unsure how to finish.

"That's why you were dressed like the forsworn…" Sage lowered his head and she tried to gauge his reaction only to find the shadow covering his eyes didn't falter or lessen, she knew illusion magic when she saw it.

She grabbed the hood over his head, assuming that was the source of the illusion. She couldn't stop the gasp from escaping nor could she help but stare at his eyes. Even with the sun shining brightly she could see his eyes glow a vibrant blue. "Well that's new." She gawked until he finally looked away, embarrassed at the attention.

She knew his eyes were special from the beginning but they never did glow like that. She knew before when he saw a spell cast somehow he could understand it and mimic it perfectly. That paired with his unusual large pool of magicka made him stronger than any wizards his own age. She wondered what changed to make them glow so brightly. "I think it's your turn to explain" Willow stated, shifting her weight so that she could look directly at him.

He squirmed under her intense gaze but only slightly "Well, as you guessed I'm not a vampire anymore. Turns out the little girl who found me was the ward of a powerful wizard in Morthal, he cured me shortly after." He chuckled "I honestly couldn't believe my luck; I almost convinced myself the Aedra were getting involved in some round about way." He looked up to the sky thoughtfully, she wanted to ask what he was thinking about but he continued before she had the chance.

"Falion, the wizard, said that Solitude would be my best bet to finding information on criminals and slavers." She thought she saw his left eye twitch ever so slightly but figured it was just a trick of the light. She couldn't know about the mad voice in his head that called itself "Vorohah", the price for his magical skills, and how it told him to head for solitude.

"From there I uh…" he paused as if trying to think of the right words to use. How could he tell her he was led to the blue castle and convinced to trespass further into the Pelagius Wing by the voice that led him there? Vorohah did all that just so Sage could meet his father, the source of his magical gift and the root of the voice constantly seeking his own madness, the mad-god, Sheogorath.

Willow felt something was wrong with his pause, but she just thought it had to do with the shock of her near death experience. She had no idea that the reason his eyes were glowing was because he had tried to get the mad god to take his gift back, to take the voice out of his head.

It was the mad gods twisted way of punishing him that made his ability so much stronger, to the point that he could now see the light blue glow of magicka that all things possessed. It was also the reason Vorohah had an undetermined amount of control over his thoughts. On what felt like a whim Vorohah gave him Willows location south of Dragons Bridge.

"I acquired information about a slave trading base south of Dragons Bridge, so I didn't waste time and headed there. I wasn't too far from there when I met Aela." She narrowed her eyes at him, noticing his left eye twitch again. "Met her?" she asked, her voice stern. "… Well more she met me… or rather she tried to hunt me in her wolf form, but I stopped her before it could get serious!" he added the last part quickly to try and negate the anger building in her eyes. "So what happened with this… Aela women" her voice held an edge he had yet to hear.

"Well I brought her back to her camp" he motioned towards a more heavily wooded area. "That's where we heard what we thought were forsworn barbarians, Aela already loosed the arrow before I knew it was you…" he looked away from her, the emotion in his voice hinted to what may have happened after she dropped.

She placed her hand on his, gripping it tightly "You couldn't have known, what happened wasn't your fault. But you saved me! and I'm sure it only took a bit of help from Eli's healing magic." she tried to tease with a wink but the despair in his eyes only widened.

He whipped his head away from her, refusing to meet her gaze. "W-what aren't you telling me?" she couldn't keep the hint of fear from her voice. He stayed silent, keeping his eyes down.

"If you don't tell her I will." A Nordic accent rang out and Willow looked back to see a tall, slender redhead looking down at them with steely eyes. "I take it you're Aela" Willows voice was firm and clipped; she did not want to be this close to the women who put an arrow in her chest. That was the only reason she told herself even as she felt her stomach twist and a thought came to her mind. _I don't care if Sage carried you back, even if you were naked_...

"Spare me the show of anger, I was the reason you were shot in the heart" she stated bluntly. Willow bristled, but Aela only raised a hand to stop her from interrupting. "But I'm also the reason you're still here at all."

She left out the part where Sage almost killed them all because he thought Willow couldn't be saved. "Tell her. now." She glared down at Sage but Willow spoke first "I got shot in the heart? But there's no way you or Eli could hope to heal a wound like… that…" she trailed off, starting to puzzle it together on her own.

"Thats's true, it would take a certain mastery over restoration magic to heal a shot to the heart. We couldn't help you but she could" he motion to the women who was now roasting meat over the fire on a stick. "She gave you her blood and you… changed" he struggled to find the right word but she could barely hear him at that point.

"That isn't possible... I would be able to tell if I was a lycanthrope!" her voice rose a level "Enhanced sense of sight, smell and touch; I would be overwhelmed by all of them!" her voice rose again when she heard the guilt in his voice and the sorrow in his eyes.

"You can thank your friend's monstrous power, separating the beast from our spirits." There was clear anger in Aela's voice and Willow could see Sage stiffen at her choice of words. "I-I don't do that… I just soothe the raging torrent of magicka, calming it down. It's still there. It's just sleeping" he spoke quietly, the guilt palpable on his voice "I didn't mean to go so far…" Willow wanted to defend his explanation, but she couldn't form any words.

Aela on the other hand seemed to have no problem expressing her anger. "Oh, didn't mean to go so far did you? Are you talking about when you tore the transitioned flesh from my body? Or is it when Willow almost ripped us to pieces because I found out I couldn't transform into a wolf; and you went crazy!" "I wasn't that bad…" Sage said, trying to defend himself. "You broke three of my ribs!" Aela responded furiously.

"Enough!" Willow yelled out, making Sage jump and even earning a shocked look from Aela who clearly was not expecting her to produce such power from her voice. "Sage?" Willow spoke firmly while placing her hand on his chin, encouraging eye contact "Tell me exactly what happened last night. Starting the moment I hit the ground." Sage stared back, nodding and clearing his throat. "I'd get comfortable; it's not a short story."

 **And so ends the first chapter in broken, as some can guess this chapter is reviewing the events of Willow and Sage's past, primarily the time my lovely pair have spent separate. It also serves to get everyone caught up on the major details from Rejected so like i said earlier reading that fan fiction is not a must. If there are any points that I've missed or what-have-you I ask you to worry not, everything will be explained as it comes.**

 **That being said I of course encourage you to tell me about any problems you may come across. It may be something I've missed and I will do my absolute best to explain and/or correct it as needed. I'm planning on having another chapter ready within a week of this one being released but probably sooner so I hope to see you there. Good day and night, whichever applies best.**

 **The Amateur**

 **Alno**


	2. chapter 2

The night before.

"What. Are. You. Doing?" His voice held a barely controlled rage, his body visibly shaking while his eyes blazed like azure fire. "I'm saving her." Aela's piercing gaze made him pause and the light in his eyes dimmed somewhat.

She didn't wince as she dragged her dagger across her wrist. Dropping the knife, she cradled Willow's head with her uninjured arm and pressed the fresh wound to Willow's lips. Blood dripped from the sides of her mouth as Aela held her in a perverse embrace.

Sage could only stare at the scene with a mixture of shock and interest. _She's lying! They need to burn for what they've caused!_ Vorohah's voice raged in Sages head but it barely registered. He could see an ancient blood red Magicka, older the man or mer, flow slowly inside Willow's body.

Her body suddenly seized up, the Magicka abruptly speeding up and whipping around her body violently. To Elijah it looked like she was having a seizure; to Aela it reminded her of her own first transformation but to Sage, it looked like a complete Magicka rewiring.

After his Father's "gift" Sage could see everyone had a similar looking Magicka "framework", to his eyes most people look very similar. The soft blue lights spread thinly through the limbs and pooled in the center of the torso, only changing density as the castor requires.

The unfamiliar red Magicka ignored this tradition, pooling almost entirely in the limbs and skull. It only took a moment for Sage figure out werewolves, even in human form, were stronger, faster and had better senses.

But then why did Aela's red Magicka seem to cower in her center? _Maybe because I went overboard when she attacked me, it hasn't had a chance to recover… it would be easy to get rid of her in this weakened state..._ it didn't take him long to figure the thought wasn't actually his own, he hated that Voro could steer his thoughts like that

His attention was brought back to Willow when she suddenly stopped convulsing and twisted out of Aela's hands. "AAAARRGGRRR" A pained yelled that turned into a growl, her voice distorting as the red Magicka started pouring from her body, wrapping itself around her like a second skin and rapidly changing shape. Sage could see the hulking mass like a shining red beacon. With the red Magicka glowing so brightly during the transformation he completely lost sight of Willow's original blue Magicka.

No one moved a muscle as the massive, bipedal wolf raised its snout to the night sky and let out a deep primal howl. Its eyes moved slowly around the clearing, to their surprise it passed over both Elijah and Aela, the two obviously closer threats, and rested on Sage or more accurately his glowing eyes.

It didn't move at first, almost as if it was gauging how much of a threat he was. In the back of his mind he couldn't help but praise Willow. _Even in this state her analytical nature still holds its sway._ He didn't have time to think deeper on it as he saw the beasts' leg muscles twitch, his magicka flaring up off instinct. The beast swatted him with enough force to break bones just as he brought up his stone flesh spell.

He crashed into a nearby tree, sending splinters flying and pushing the air from his lungs with a painful gasp. He sat on all fours, trying desperately to fight the suffocating feeling in his lungs. Elijah made the mistake of recklessly running towards Sage to heal him. He didn't make it two meters before the werewolf was on top of him, battering his face with two massive claws.

After her body refused to take on the beast form, Aela drew the silver dagger she kept hidden in her boot and jumped onto the creatures back where its massive claws wouldn't be able to reach. With a yell she brought the dagger down, interrupting a lethal blow to Elijah and causing the beast to reel back and roar in pain.

Sage, finally able to breath again, saw the beast or rather Willow's familiar form inside it, thrash and yell out in pain. "You're hurting her…" his voice was barely above a whisper while his mind tried to cope with the recent stress from the events that lead him there. Aela twisted and wrenched the dagger from the creatures shoulder, drawing another cry of pain from the beast… From Willow.

Something snapped in his mind and time slowed as Aela brought the knife down for another savage strike. "You know you really should learn to take care of your own problems, this is starting to get embarrassing." Sage turned to look at the voice that sounded almost familiar. "I-I thought you said you were me? Doesn't that mean I am helping myself?" even as the confident words left his mouth he couldn't hide the fear he felt when looking at his grinning doppelganger.

"True, but even so I still see no reason to help, not yet anyway." He smiled coldly "Why don't you help them? With all that Magicka at your disposal it shouldn't be hard at all." Sage scowled at Vorohah's words, knowing exactly where they led. Vorohah's grin widened "Oh that's right! You know a grand total of what? Five spells, eight at most!" he started laughing so hard he almost fell over, catching himself on the beast that was Willow. "You lack imagination, it's pitiful really but I'm getting a little off topic." He leaned against the wolf as he spoke.

"So if you won't help then why are we still here?" Sage asked, motioning to the frozen world around them. Voro let out a heavy sigh "I'll reword it then. WHY should I help?" he raised an eyebrow when Sage's eye's widened in realization "You want permanent control" Sage whispered and caught a look of what he thought was surprise from Vorohah but it disappeared a moment later. "I'll save them on one condition" Vorohah said suddenly, apparently ignoring Sage's statement.

"The next time I say "give me control" you will not be able to resist it. Do we have a deal?" he walked up and extended his hand to Sage. He didn't take it at first, unable to shake the haunting feeling the suggestion gave him, but when the world started moving again, at that moment his hesitation disappeared. As soon as their hands made contact the world spun back into motion, the feeling it brought sent a dizzy sensation through Sage's skull that made the world blur from view.

Vorohah was in control now, with his smoldering eyes glowing ever brighter. He let his Magicka flow freely around him for a moment, enjoying the warmth it brought. The wolf howled in pain as Aela brought the dagger down again, bringing Vorohah's attention back to the commotion. "Oh ya, this whole mess… I suppose I did promise to save them didn't I." with a sigh he let the magicka build in his arms and legs. Taking inspiration from the way the red Magicka strengthened Willow's body he increased his own strength drastically. With a deep breath he leaped through the air like an arrow, sticking an elbow out, he caught Aela straight in the ribs.

With a loud crack Aela flew at least three meters away before landing with a thud. Clutching her ribs was all she could do after the sudden attack left her winded and wounded. Vorohah's grin only widened "That has _got_ to hurt. What about you prince charming, need some help?" even as he spoke he was grabbing the werewolf's tail and yanking the mass of muscle off of the unconscious and bruised Breton.

The beast was on its feet in an instant, charging Vorohah with a primal anger in its eyes. He met that gaze with his own feral smile and couldn't help let a chuckle slip. The beast was angry now, any previous semblance of caution and intelligence given way to pure rage. When it was close enough to pounce, Voro was ready and in an instant he moved into the beast guard, sending a simple but devastating elbow downwards. Vorohah felt his arm go numb from the impact even with his increase muscle power and stone flesh combined.

With a whimper Vorohah thought was simply pitiful it tried to raise its head from the dirt only to fall forward onto its stomach, too dazed to stand. Vorohah loved every second but knew it wouldn't be down for much longer. He placed his left hand on its head and felt the familiar rush of his magicka pouring over the wretched beast. He ignored how the woman inside the mass of Magicka writhed in pain, she wouldn't remember so why should he care?

He raised his right hand, intending to force the magicka into her in order to rip her body out. " _Stop it!"_ a voice called and he obeyed, if only to find where the voice came from. It took him a second to realize the words came from his own mouth. "Sage! Don't you dare interfere now that I'm finally helping you!" he yelled frustratingly into the darkness. _You've done enough; I can take it from here._ His lip drew into a snarl but he said nothing. He knew full well that he couldn't do what he wanted to with half his concentration on keeping Sage from taking over.

"You want to deal with this mess then fine, but I hope you remember _our deal"_ Voro's voice faded as it receded back into his mind, Sage open his eyes as the world came back into focus. "It's uncomfortable in there" he mumbled _tell me about it… but you have bigger things to worry about._ Vorohah responded drawing Sages attention back to the werewolf that was now able to stand, a bit wobbly, on all fours.

With a deep breath Sage placed his hand on its head and cast a quick calm spell to try relaxing Willow before beginning. "Do you remember back when we were kids?" he spoke to calm his nerves, he's never tried something quite like this before. _I can't say I do, they're blurred and distorted. Being trapped under your subconscious didn't really leave me with a big window to watch the world._ He ignored Voro's voice and continued "Even back then you would try to teach me what your mother taught you about Magicka." he spoke clearly as if the words were some kind of incantation.

"It's not a weapon like most believe. It isn't some abstract form of power or life. Our realm was created using Magicka, using the power of the gods. That same power still seeps into this world from the sun and stars." He heard a gasp from nearby but couldn't let it draw his attention as his Magicka, a fragment of the gods and their world, wrapped around his hand. The wolf wanted to run from it but found its body refusing to listen.

"The same power that is within all things of this realm is not meant to be the weapon we so often use it as. It's an expression of our will, our wants and our needs." He moved his hands under the wolf's chin and drew it up; making eye contact he could see the panic and fear in its eyes. _She's so confused, she has no idea what's happening…_ he suppressed the sudden surge of guilt and anger that threatened to overwhelm him and continued

" _I_ _ **want**_ _to help you and for that I_ _ **need**_ _you to change back."_ The words reverberated through the air and the blue light wrapped around the wolf in an instant before dissipating just as fast. Willow's unconscious body was all that remained.

Elijah and Aela watched it unfold, both having regained their senses. For the second time Elijah was the first to react when Sage hit the ground like a rag-doll, his instincts as the tribes' healer kicking in. "How are you doing Aela? I'm a little dizzy myself, think I have a concussion" he spoke to the only other conscious person in the clearing while checking the pulse and breathing of his two "patients".

"I-I'm fine" Aela stutter slightly, still trying to process what happened. "I wish I could believe that but I see you clutching your ribs. How bad is it?" he cast a quick healing spell on himself as he spoke after confirming the other two were fine excluding the exhaustion.

"I'm no stranger to pain, it just doesn't usually last this long." She winced lightly as she stood but flinched away when Elijah approached. "I'm not going to bite; I was just going to heal you. Is that alright?" his voice was soft as if speaking to a wounded animal, it succeeded in pissing Aela off more. "I have a spare potion." She grumbled as she pushed past him. Moving quickly despite her wounds she grabbed a large bag from her campsite and pulled a potion free. "I don't suppose you got a tent in there? Or blankets? Because Willow is going to start freezing soon." He motioned to the unconscious and naked woman.

It only took a few minutes for Aela and Elijah to set up the makeshift tent with some nearby branches and pelts from Aela's bag. "You can get some rest, I don't mind making sure nothing sneaks up on us. I doubt I could get to sleep after all that anyway." Elijah mentioned while building a fire place with some scattered rocks and dry branches. Aela made no move to lie down or rest, only continued to stare at Sage.

"He was speaking in a different voice. When he pulled Willow off of you I mean." She finally spoke after the fire was started. "Really? All I heard was her growls and claws then suddenly the weight was gone" Elijah motioned at Willow. "It sounded like him only it was distorted somehow and the way he spoke was different too, he is unstable." She explained, trying to keep the disgust out of her voice. "You really seem to hate him, why were you traveling together anyway? Using him to keep control of your beast form?" Elijah's observance caught her off guard.

"I don't hate who he is… I hate what he is…" she spoke quietly but only got an inquisitive look from Elijah as if saying that didn't explain much. With a sigh, she began to explain "I was hunting when I caught sight of someone through the trees. I didn't want to be interrupted so I roared, hoping they would run back the way they came. When the person didn't move I assumed it was a hunter and got closer to gauge the threat." She let out a heavy sigh and scratched her head, clearly having trouble keeping her voice steady.

"I didn't expect to see some scrawny boy in a hood and filthy clothes so I roared again this time I was much closer. Yet again he refused to move, as if to say "Come get some"." Elijah couldn't help but interrupt her with a light chuckle. "I bet you started to get angry then?" he questioned with a smirk, causing Aela to scowled at him.

"Of course I was getting angry! I thought " _Why was someone so weak not running away from me!?_ " So I charged him and roared right in his face, throwing every bit of anger into it. Even veterans of a dozen battles would have run from me, but he just stood there… saying I looked angry… saying I was afraid" she remember the words clearly even in her half enraged state. "I was not afraid! But that soon changed when he raised his hand…" Elijah didn't know what to say. He was surprised at the vulnerability in her voice but he doubted even she realized how much emotion she was using.

"I didn't feel any danger up to that point but as soon as he raised his hand every fiber of my being screamed at me to run, to try get away from what stood before me. I felt… fear." She cleared her throat suddenly and sat up straighter, remembering whose company she was in.

"It's alright… you don't have to continue. After what he did here… well let's just say even I can't tease you for fearing that" he pointed at Sage who was now leaning against the tent that Willow rested within "We can at least be thankful that it's over." Aela couldn't help but frown at his words "I somehow doubt this is even close to finished."

 **So this chapter took me a lot longer than I expected and some parts (IE the magic explanation) were harder than others. I would like to clarify just because Sage said magic works as an expression of will doesn't necessarily mean that's how magic works, it just how he believes it does. Please feel free to make any suggestions ideas or theories known in the reviews or feel free to PM me if you have any questions and the like. Hope to hear from you all**

 **The Amateur**

 **Alno**


	3. Chapter 3

"-And then I put Willow in the tent." Aela had to finish the story, Sage claimed to have blacked out after being thrown against a tree. Aela had glared at that excuse, clearly skeptical of his obliviousness.

"You honestly expect me to believe you don't remember breaking my ribs and taking on an enraged werewolf?" Sage shrugged at Aela's accusation but didn't raise his head. "It happens when..." he trailed off inaudibly, shame welling up inside his stomach.

"Stop screwing around Sage, what you did last night… It was scary. I'm no stranger to powerful magic but what you did..." Elijah spoke, having returned from the nearby forsworn encampment with clothing for Willow.

"What you did shouldn't be possible! Not for a normal person." Aela snapped cruelly, her patience wearing thin and Sage's submissive behavior only adding to her anger. "Now answer me! What are you hiding!?" She stood up and easily towered over the young Nord.

He opened his mouth but closed it a moment later, as if he couldn't find the right words. Aela tried to gleam something from his eyes but cursed the enchanted hood that kept a shadow over them. She took another step forward, wanting to push him harder but her view was blocked suddenly by a freshly dressed Willow.

"That's enough! Fact of the matter is, he doesn't have to tell you anything!" Willow had to look up in order to glare at Aela who stood a good 10 inches taller than her. "I get that you're angry, what he did was inexcusable but in case you've forgotten, you almost killed me! Yet you don't hear me complaining!" to Willow's credit her voice didn't waver in the slightest when speaking of her near-death experience.

"That was an accident that won't be repeated!" Aela yelled back and motioned to Sage "He is an unstable magic user! All it takes is one spell to go wrong for us to be scarred or even killed!" In the back of her mind Aela knew she should just walk away and leave the whole situation behind but she couldn't ignore Sage. She couldn't help but picture him inside the walls of Whiterun, with that same crazed look in his eye and unstable magic radiating from him. The risk to innocent lives was to great.

Willow narrowed her eyes, her right hand twitching slightly as she glared daggers at Aela. "His life was in danger, anyone would freak out! Just because you're **afraid** doesn't mean you can take it out on him!" her words seem to hit home and for the first time since meeting Aela they saw her cheeks flush if only slightly.

"I-I am not-" Aela was cut off by Elijah who gently put a hand on her shoulder. "That's enough; I think it's time we cooled off a bit." He spoke gently but firmly and for a moment it looked like Aela might argue. "…fine, lead the way" she grumbled and followed Elijah, her scowl deepening as she past Willow.

Once Aela and Elijah were out of sight Willow let out a heavy sigh and took a seat next to Sage, leaning her shoulder against his. "I-I'm sorry you got hurt…" Sage was unable to keep the tension from his voice. "If I had known it was you-" Sage started but Willow interrupted with a wave of her hand.

"But you couldn't have, what happened wasn't anyone's fault" She smiled and he opened his mouth to argue but decided against it with a light sigh, electing to just enjoy the comfortable silence.

"Do you wanna talk about what Aela said? About your voice not sounding like your own?" Her voice was gentle, lacking any kind of judgment and it made Sage's breath catch. _You probably shouldn't tell her; at best she'll want to fix you. I don't need to say what the worst is._ Vorohah commented dryly, the boredom in his voice suggested he couldn't care less either way.

Sage didn't say anything at first, silently debating if he should tell her about the voice that pushed him ever closer to his inheritance. "… Have you heard of Sheogorath…?" He finally spoke even if it was just a whisper. "Are you talking about the Deadric prince?" She confirmed and he nodded

"The deadric prince of madness to be exact…" Sage seemed to struggle with his words. "Well… he told me that uh… that he's my dad" He felt foolish speaking the words he was told only a few days earlier, hardly believing them himself. _You can doubt it all you want, we both know the truth._ He ignored Vorohah's voice in his head and looked over to Willow, praying she wasn't about to burst out laughing.

"Well… that would explain your eyes and massive pool of magicka." She scratched her chin thoughtfully but Sage could only stare at her in disbelief. "Y-you actually believe me…?" he didn't even try to hide the shock in his voice as his jaw nearly hit the floor.

Willow couldn't help but giggle at the expression on his face "You're not able to lie to me, not without me knowing something's up." She smiled that same smile she always did and he felt the dam break. He told her everything, about his father, about the voice that tormented him and even about how it helped him every now and then.

Willow listened without interrupting, a lump building in her throat as he talked about the voice that tormented him for so long. "At this point, I-I don't know how much control he has over me… It scares me sometimes..." Sage couldn't look up from the ground, his heart pounding in his chest.

He nearly jumped when he felt her arms wrap around him. "I'm sorry… I knew something was wrong but… I had no idea." She trailed off; the lump in her throat only seemed to grow as her vision began to blur. She buried her face in his neck as if to try and hide her tears. "Please don't cry… you couldn't have known" He wrapped his arms around her while he spoke.

Both refused to let go for what felt like hours but couldn't have been longer than a few minutes. "So Aela is-uh… Am I interrupting?" Elijah's voice barely registered to the pair at first, he couldn't tell if they hadn't heard him or were choosing to ignore him.

"Ahem" Elijah cleared his throat to get their attention and with a groan they separated and Willow stood up. "Where's Aela?" she asked, confused that Aela wasn't standing next to Elijah like she expected. "Well that's actually what I was going to tell you."

"There wasn't anyway she could have stayed with us at my peoples camp. They have a hard time trusting Nords, let alone a Companion with connections to the guards." Elijah cast an awkward glance to Sage when explaining the almost blatant racism towards Nords.

"So I guess that means I won't be able to stay?" Sage stated bluntly making Elijah flinch. "Not necessarily, normally I would say any Nord had as much chance of gaining forsworn trust as a man has of bedding Meridia." Elijah raised his hand to stop Willow who looked like she was going to argue.

"That being said" he continued with a glint in his eye "Despite popular opinion among my tribe we are not "thriving" as so many want to believe. Our numbers dwindle every time we clash with Markarth, and when they aren't harassing our hunters the Silver-Blood extort or downright steal from us." The anger in Elijah's voice reminded Sage and Willow of the shop owners and traders in Riften that had their goods confiscated because of some half-cocked "law" the guards would come up with.

"So in exchange for feeding and sheltering us, Sage and I are to become your weapons?" Willow was just as blunt as Sage with her statement, making it obvious she would follow Sage if he couldn't stay. Elijah gave her a charming smile "That makes it sound like I'm telling you to kill people with reckless abandon." Willow raised an eyebrow at his comment, clearly skeptical.

"I, along with my Tribe's chief, see killing as a last resort, nothing draws attention like a body count. What I would need you two to do is put on something of a performance." Elijah grinned as he thought more about it. Willow being a werewolf would be useful but not essential; after all they did have three different members of his tribe that already embraced Hircine's gift.

The thought of hiring an expert wizard was tempting but considering their stubbornness and their self-centered attitude it usually invited unrest among his people. That's why Sage was so useful, he was young, naïve and open-minded but had the abilities of those thirty years his senior if not more.

 _He wants to use us as a scare tactic for when his savages aren't enough. As successful as I'm sure it would be I somehow doubt you'll be able to pull it off without me._ Vorohah's tone was dangerous; he was not some humans' tool.

Sage thought for a moment. _Just think of it as a trade, we get to eat our fill and sleep comfortably and he gets a useful bargaining chip. Besides, Willow needs to someone's help getting used to her new beast spirit and he knows more than I do…_

Sage hated to admit it but he knew little to nothing about lycanthropy and he wouldn't subject Willow to his Magicka again without a life-or-death situation. "I can agree to that. As long as you understand that I can and will refuse to kill innocent people." _If those even exist._ Sage ignored Vorohah and shook Elijah's extended hand.

"Wonderful, it shouldn't be too hard to convince the others since you'll be pulling your weight. Now come on, assuming this works out, we have a lot of work to do." Elijah said with more confidence than he felt. It wasn't the chief that he was nervous about but his advisor was another matter entirely.

Elijah led the Sage and Willow to the nearby forsworn encampment; a large gathering of tents surrounded at all sides by wooden stakes and, to Sage's eyes, a massive magic circle lined with strange runes. That alone was enough to give Sage pause but the color of it made him freeze in his tracks. He could hear Vorohah whistle in the back of his head. _That is a shit-load of red._ Sage couldn't disagree with Vorohah's statement as the entire magic circle was made of the same deep red Magicka inside werewolves.

"Sage…?" Willow nudged his shoulder to his attention. "What is it? What do you see?" Worry tinged her voice. "It's a powerful spell meant to gather large amounts of Magicka from the stars." Elijah interrupted while Sage tried to find his voice.

"… It's more than that" Sage whispered while quickly walking to the edge of the circle leaving him thirty meters from the wooden stake wall. Willow and Elijah followed closely, the former worried for her friend and the latter curious as to how much he could see.

Sage knelt to the ground and was about to place his hand on one of the hundreds of strange symbols surrounding it both inside and out when Elijah grabbed his wrist. "I really must insist on the "look with your eyes not your hands" rule. No need to antagonize anyone before even setting foot inside." He warned with a look that threatened serious punishment.

Sage let out a sigh "That makes sense… but you should know that the Magicka used in this spell is the same that is now inside you" He motioned to Willow and Elijah raised an eyebrow. "So even with precautions taken to hide this spell you can still see it clear as day huh?" Elijah commented, Sage just shrugged and they continued.

Elijah was tempted to push the matter, being a proper mage himself he was extremely curious about how he could control Magicka so freely and why his eyes constantly glow a vibrant blue. Despite that a larger part of him didn't want to antagonize an argument with the pair so he didn't press the matter. He would never admit that Aela's words about Sages instability struck a cord deep in his mind.

If there's one thing Elijah was good at it was reading people, having a negotiator as a father helped to say the least. Even with such little time he could tell Willow was confident in her abilities and knowledge and would stand up to what she thought was right without a second thought. He also knew that she felt guilty for whatever caused her separation from Sage.

Elijah knew Aela was similar to Willow in the sense that she too would never back down from what she thought was right even if what they each thought was right seemed leagues apart. The difference between the two seemed routed in the heritage and completely against it at the same time. Willow used a very Breton-like logic to defend her emotional attachment while Aela used a Nord-like pride to mask a fear based on fact, not blind superstition.

The point being that Elijah had no trouble making sense of the contradictory way people thought versus how the spoke. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, what he knew about Sage didn't add up properly.

When Elijah first saw Sage he was on the verge of killing all of them because Willow was dying so he immediately knew that their relationship was something more than simple friendship. That part was consistent with what happened early that morning when they were properly reunited.

The inconstancies started when Elijah thought about what Aela said happened after he was dazed and what little he had heard himself when he regained his senses. Sage somehow took on an enraged werewolf and succeeded in saving all our lives. That on its own could be attributed to his magical talents but when coupled with the complete disregard for Willow's safety even in beast form and his sarcastic attitude Aela told Elijah about.

Elijah had thought about all this and, assuming Aela was telling the truth, he knew that bringing Sage into a crowded camp filled with his people was a risk. With that in his mind he still chose to offer his deal to Sage, confident he could convince the chief to let him stay. He knew his tribe was no stranger to uneasy partnerships with unstable beings.

Once the trio arrived at the wooden gate Elijah waved to the sentry that stood on a small platform and pushed his way through the gate, motioning for Sage and Willow to follow. Inside they were met with the sight of several men and women, all dressed animal furs and brandishing crude weapons made from bones and fur. "Ya better have a good reason for bringin in another stray Eli, else the Matron is bound to get upset" A women pushed through the nervous guards.

Elijah and Willow recognized the women as Kaie, the woman who was rescued with Willow from the mage fighting ring. "Last I checked the chief accepted newcomers, so long as they live by our laws and worked to better the tribe." Elijah replied, his tone sweet as honey despite the hostility in his narrowing gaze.

Willow looked confused at the display but Sage hadn't even noticed, his attention drawn to the reach folk surrounding them. _They have some powerful mages amongst them. Though that red Magicka wrapping around some of their limbs can't have been put their by a normal mage._ Vorohah warned. _I don't suppose you could tell me why it's so different from normal Magicka?_ Sage asked but Vorohah said nothing.

"It's a bit different when the stray ya bring hides his face with magic. What are ya hiding under that hood?" Kaie turned her attention to Sage who let a heavy sigh before tugging off the enchanted hood. He heard a few people gasp and even saw some of the peoples Magicka flare up in anticipation of an attack.

I raised my hands up, my fist closed showing I wasn't going to cast a spell. "hmm… yes I suppose both the Matron and the chief would want to see that." Kaie said and turned to lead the way to the largest tent at the center of the camp.

"Who's this Matron?" Willow spoke quietly to Elijah while they walked. "I prefer the term advisor but to answer your question she is a very powerful magic user who holds a lot sway around here." He explained while hiding his malice expertly, he did not like the supposed "Matron".

As they approached the tent Sage noticed how heavily enchanted the shelter was, glowing blue symbols adorned every side of it and a single red one sat brightly above the entrance. _Those are powerful enchantments, meant to prevent the escape of any scent, sound or light, popular for tortures and organ harvesters alike. This could be fun…_ Vorohah's voice held a barely contained mirth that made Sage shiver.

 _I guess I should probably tell you that the Red Magicka, the very same stuff coursing through dear Willow and is currently surrounding us, is from Hircine. The deadric prince of the hunt._ Sage nodded mentally at Vorohah's explanation.

 _That makes sense; I mean werewolves are often called children of hircine. So by that logic the two beings inside that tent, which are both glowing red instead of blue, are werewolves? Than why does Willow still have her Blue Magicka while those figures have none?_ Sage tried to get answers but as usually Vorohah let silence reign.

"Wait here." Elijah's voice brought Sage from his thoughts as Elijah entered the tent with Kaie. There was silence due to the nature of the enchantments surrounding the tent, forcing Willow and Sage to stand around somewhat awkwardly, surrounded by armed guards.

Elijah's head stuck out of the tent suddenly, causing the pair to jump slightly. "They'll see you now. Oh and try not to freak-out" He added before holding the fold to the tent open. Sage and Willow shared a worried look before entering.

Their breath caught in their throats at the same time, neither expected to see a man with an gaping chest wound calmly sitting at the head of what looked like a war table. The shock only grew when they saw the figure in the shadows to the man's right. It had scraggly grey hair, pale skin and a hooked nose with eyes as black as night. Its long, bony limbs all ended with four sharp talons giving it an incredibly distinct appearance that Willow recognized immediately.

"Hagraven…" The word escaped her lips before she good stop herself and the man at the table, who wore a large headdress made from a deer's head, frowned. "Do you honestly plan to insult my advisor and this holy sight's matron by using the term those damned Nords came up with" his voice was calm but his eyes held a dangerous edge in them. _Oh we're off to a wonderful start aren't we?_ Vorohah laughed.

 **Sorry this took longer, work is picking up with Christmas and now ill be moving halfway across Canada on a four day driving trip with my family so that'll be fun. Uploads will probably get spotty but I shall do my best.**


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